Transfer Day & Goodbye from me

I had such an amazing morning!

I drove to the clinic to meet my recipients so that I could go in with them to watch the transfer take place. It was so generous of them to invite me in and I was so happy to see a bit of the scientific side of it.

They started by telling us that the embryo they have chosen is a hatching blastocyst, and apparently that is very good. There were another 2 that were also ready to go so they were going to be frozen today. Three others were just about ready but needed to develop a touch more, so they will be frozen tomorrow, and it seemed like the remaining three were maybe not going to make it to the freezing stage. So to only lose 3 along the way is really good because I read this morning that it is usual to lose around half the embryos, so 3 out of 9 aint bad!

The doctor then came in and got my recipient ready, telling her that he was very happy with the quality of the embryo being transferred and then we got to see it on the screen! It was amazing to look at, such a teeny tiny thing, full of circles and squiggles which will hopefully one day be the placenta, the sac and a foetus, and all that good stuff. They then drew it up into a syringe looking thing with a long tube on the end and inserted it into my recipient. Just as the doctor began to push the syringe to release the embryo I reached down for her hand and held on tight. It was such a union of the two of us, and it was a really lovely moment. Her hubby stood right beside us and we all waited to hear that it had gone well.

The doctor looked up at us and explained that it was complete, and now she is to rest up and relax as much as she can. He wouldn't give us a percentage on what her chances are of falling pregnant from this, but before we went into it (several months ago) he told her that she would have around 40% chance of this being successful. But for the time being she is pregnant until proven otherwise :)

So there won't be much from me on here anymore, that is the end of my journey. I will however stay in close contact with the couple, and hopefully things go well for them. Most of the people reading this blog know me so I will be sure to keep you all updated with any progress.

Thanks for reading and asking questions, it has been a wonderful time of my life and I have been so lucky to have been able to do this and it only makes me appreciate motherhood even more, which I never even thought was possible. I feel like the luckiest woman alive!

Thanks, and bye for now........

Lisa xxx

1 day to go until transfer

Tomorrow they are going to transfer one embryo into my recipient and I have been invited to go along and witness it! I'm really excited about it and can't imagine what a 5 day old embryo even looks like. The earliest I ever got to see my kids was at about 8 weeks, so I am intrigued and excited and feeling full of hope and love. I soooo hope this first transfer does the trick.

So let me update you on how the embies are doing today -

3 are early blastocysts
3 are morulas
2 are early morulas
1 has 10 cells

A morula is the second stage. Once they are fertilised they count the cells until they all start to blend in and melt together. That is usually 10-30 cells and they call them morulas.

A blastocyst (known as a blastie) is a morula that then forms a fluid filled cavity, where they can see fluid forming between the cells. That is what they want the embryo to be to be able to transfer it.

Day 4 is usually when they become a morula and day 5 they progress to a blastie. We are only on day 4 and already have 3 exceeding expectations, 3 that are right on track (all 6 have been classed as "A grade") and the other 3 are just a touch behind but not out of the race just yet. So it seems to me that at worst case scenario we have 6 great embryos to work with.

We are so close now, so please send your positive energy to my recipients tomorrow morning, we need all the luck we can get!

A little update from the scientists...

They have just called my recipient and told her that of the 9 embryos -

7 have 4 cells
1 has 5 cells
1 has 6 cells

That doesn't mean much to me, but she said that 4 cells for today is "optimal". Apparently they all grow at a slightly different rate so there is no knowing which ones will be best, and they choose the strongest and best embryo on the morning of transfer for implantation, so until then we just have to sit and wait and take in the newest developments.

3 days til transfer!!! :)

We now have embryos

Things are happening - from the 13 eggs that were strong enough, they fertilised each of them with a single sperm and from that they have now created 9 embryos! That is a great result.

Apparently it is quite normal to lose a few along the way, so by then end of the week we will more than likely have less than 9, but hopefully not too many drop off. The more embryos that grow nice and strong, the more chances my couple have of falling pregnant. So come on embies, you can do it. Form those cells and show us how clever you are xx

Egg pick up day!!

Today is my little boy's 3rd birthday! Happy birthday my sweetheart, I love you.

This morning I went into Maroubra Day Surgery for my quick 15 min procedure of egg retrieval. I went in, spoke to a nurse, then the anethetist, and then it was off to theatre. Just before I was put under they put a piece of tape on my hand and told me that they would write the number of eggs collected on it so that as oon as I woke up I could see it. Before I knew it the room was spinning and I was out.

I woke up and immediately looked at my hand......... 15. I couldn't believe it! I figured it would be 10 at the most because that is all they ever saw in my ultrasounds, so I was in a happy sense of shock. I started crying and the nurses thought I must be in pain (how embarrassing!) but it was just me being emotional and a little proud of myself.

I discovered I had a tiny little bit of pain, I would say it's a cramp that feels like mild period pain. I already had a warm heat pack on, and the nurse came over with some Panadol and asked me if I needed anything stronger, but I didn't.

I was able to get up and get dressed right away while the nurse called my recipient who was coming in to drive me home. While I waited for her I had a well deserved cup of tea and some bikkies. When she arrived she brought in the most beautiful bunch of flowers I have ever seen and a whole bag jam-packed full of handmade chocolates. Talk about spoilt rotten!!

So I came home and watched a movie with my hubby while I put my feet up and started drinking water. I need to drink lots over the next few days to keep my system functioning well. I feel really good other than being a bit light headed from the drugs, but I have absolutely zero pain and I didn't get any bleeding whatsoever. I feel like they looked after me very well.

Just a few minutes ago I got a call from the scientist to say that of the 15 eggs collected they are able to use 13, as only 2 of the eggs were a bit immature, so that means they will try to fertilise 13 and then they will call me to let me know how many actually take, so I am feeling really good about this. I never expected to be able to give the couple 13 chances of pregnancy so I am feeling wonderful and am so, so happy for them.

Now I am about to get ready to go to the U2 concert. What a day huh?! Good news all 'round :)

Day 16 - my injections are finished!!

I am officially finished my injections! I just had my normal two injections at 8pm, and at 9.30pm I had my trigger injection. It's called Ovidrel and it's purpose is to mature my eggs and make them release so that they can all be ready for egg pick-up on monday morning.

The nurses told me that this needle is quite blunt and that I might have to really force it in to my skin, which made me really queasy, but maybe they were being sneaky. I prepared for the worst, gritted my teeth and went for it........ and it slid in ever so nicely. It was actually one of the easiest injections I have done on this 2 week journey. It was a very nice way to finish!

I am scheduled to go in for my egg pick-up at 8.30am on Monday morning, I go in to theatre at 9.30am for a 15 min procedure, and should be released by 11.30am. Then that will be my part of this journey over, but I will pop in here every few days to update you on my progress, and what my recovery is like.

Tomorrow is my son's birthday so I'd best be off to bed so I can wake up fresh with him at whatever godly hour he decides to wake up tomorrow. Goodnight all xx

Day 15

This morning was my very last ultrasound and the follicles are looking good! The nurse counted 10, most were a great size with a few immature ones, and she said to tell my recipient that I'm looking fantastic. So pleased :)

She made sure I had enough drugs to get me through to Saturday night, when I have the trigger injection. That injection is the one that makes my body release all the eggs. We are so close now!!

Only 2 more nights of injections and then that is the end of the road for me, there will be nothing more that I can do. I truly am surprised at how quickly it has gone. The very first night I thought that 2 weeks of injecting would be really hard, but seriously, it only feels like a few nights ago and already I am at the tail end. It's quite hard to wrap my head around actually.